please raise their hand. >> the u.n. security council gets tough on north korea. and the north responds likewise. delegates at the united nations have agreed to expand sanctions on north korea. the security council condemned a rocket launch there last month. chinese delegates have long provided diplomatic protection for their north korean allies. but they approved the resolution and members adopted it unanimously. the statement criticizes the launch as a violation of previous resolutions. the security council will add organizations and individuals to lists of existing sanctions and freeze their assets. the north korean space agency is among those named. >> today's resolution also makes clear that if north korea chooses again to defy the international community such as by conducting another launch or a nuclear test then the council

will take significant action. >> american delegates told the chinese the resolution would not bring in new measures but would build existing sanctions. those assurances convinced the chinese to approve the resolution. >> and we believe that there's opportunity for all stakeholders of the peninsula, korean peninsula, to start a diplomatic track and to avoid escalation of tension. >> the north korean foreign ministry responded by suggesting another nuclear test. conduct they issued a statement saying they'll take measures to boost and strengthen their defensive military power, including nuclear deterrence. israelis are counting the votes in their parliamentary election. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has already claimed victory. but exit polls suggest he'll be

governing with a weaker mandate. the polls indicate that a right-wing bloc led by netanyahu's likud party will remain the largest camp in parliament. but it lost ground to an alliance of center-left parties. >> translator: thank you for giving me the chance to lead israel for the third time. our biggest challenge remains preventing iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. >> centrist party yesh atid is likely to become the second largest parliamentary force. the center-left labor party is projected to come third. the ultranationalist habayi habayit hayudi looks to secure its number of seats. the party opposes peace talks with palestinians.

centrist parties have performed better than expected. some voters may have been worried by the country's tilt to the right. netanyahu is expected to begin negotiations with other parties to form a coalition. but it won't be easy. the gap between the two blocs will be narrow. japanese researchers have refashioned some of the building blocks of the human body. they used cells they can reprogram into any tissue or organ. for the first time they converted induced pluripotent stem cells into ones they can grow into kidney tissue. researchers from kyoto university's center for ips cell research and application made the discovery. they have been experimenting with the cells in test tubes to generate kidney and other organ tissue. they tried various combinations. 50 types of proteins and compounds. finally, they say they found the right combination of two proteins. >> translator: i expect research to make progress in the areas of

cell therapy and the development of treatments for kidney disease. >> he says the kidneys have a complicated structure and that's limited progress for those who've tried to generate them. a gunfight has broken out on a college campus, that's a college campus in text as. three people were wounded. police have arrested two suspects. the gounmen fired at each other at a community college in the suburbs of houston. local media say both of them were hurt as well as bystander. a gunman killed 26 people last month at an elementary school in connecticut. 20 of the victims were children. investors look at market conditions when they make trades, but those in europe may soon have to consider something else, a new tax. ai uchida is here to tell us all about it. so ai, what's the purpose?

>> like all taxes, catherine, it is a form of revenue, but it's also aimed at preventing some of the big banking blunders we have seen recently. leaders in 11 of the 17 eurozone nations have approved the new tax on financial transactions. the aim is to tighten the regulation of financial institutions and curb speculative trading on stocks and other securities. >> today's agreement to allow 11 member states to move ahead with harmonized financial transaction tax is a major milestone. >> the leaders of germany, france, and spain joined the agreement. commission officials say this will be the world's first financial levy at a regional level. the next step is to submit a bill specifying what transactions will be taxed at what rates. the new tax could take effect as early as next year. but leaders in britain and the netherlands oppose the levy. their countries are home to many financial institutions. separately, the leaders of france and germany have pledged to cooperate as concerns persist

over the eurozone economy. they're celebrating the 50th anniversary of reconciliation. the elysee treaty was signed in 1963. commemorative events were held tuesday in britain -- in berlin, that is. french and german ministers held a joint cabinet meeting in the city. german chancellor angela america 8 and french president francois hollande made a statement together in parliament to emphasize their ties. they say they're determined to boost cooperation to help europe overcome its challenges. merkel said germany and france will soon make joi proposals to deepen economic integration in the eu. the european debt crisis has revealed rifts between member countries. but merkel and hollande say they hope the celebrations will highlight the e.u.'s ties. and now let's get a check on markets. first taking a look at the currencies, the dollar is lower against the yen as traders are

taking profits following the recent advance. the dollar against the yen changing hands at 88.74-76. the u.s. currency was trading at the 89-yen level before the bank of japan announcements. market players see the outcome of the b.o.j. policy meeting as within market expectations. taking a look at the euro against the yen, that's quoted at 118.29-32. let's take a look at stocks now. tokyo share prices are lower. as the yen is gaining ground. the nikkei average trading at 10,651. that is a loss of a little over half a percent from tuesday's close. market sources say investors are selling many stocks but especially export-related issues, and that is due to the yen's strength as well as the fact that the b.o.j.'s measures were almost as anticipated. okay. in other asian markets we are seeing seoul regain that 2,000 level. it is up by 1/5 of a percent at the moment. taking a look at australia, the

benchmark index is trading higher by a third of a percent at 4,794. well, the japanese government plans to help the ship-building industry in the northeast region which was hit by the march 2011 disaster. the government plans to subsidize ship builders when they jointly build facilities such as dry docks. the subsidies will cover 2/3 of the cost. in the earthquake and ensuing tsunami 37 ship-yards along the pacific coast were severely damaged. infrastructure ministry officials say that 34 of them resumed operations, but many are still facing problems such as seawater entering dry docks at high tide. this is due to some land erosion. the government plans to earmark over $110 million in fiscal 2013. the budget will come from the special aount for disaster recovery work. i will have more headlines for you in business next hour. here's a check on markets.

♪ ♪ the 23i8 pooenz plans to formally challenge the territorial ambitions of china at a united nations tribunal. the two nations both claim sovereignty over disputed islands in waters in the south china sea. >> the philippines has been exchanging views with china to peacefully settle these disputes. to this day a solution is still elusive.

we hope the arbiter proceedings shall bring the dispute to a durable solution. >> foreign secretary albert del rosario told reporters on tuesday his office summoned china's ambassador and informed her manila would seek arbitration. the two nations were engaged in a maritime standoff last year for more than two months around rich fishing grounds near the disputed scarborough shoal. china says almost the ebb tire south china sea is its territory. thphilippines coters that chioma's claim violates its sovereignty. the philippines has said repeatedly it wanted the dispute brought bv the tribunal. even so the challenge looks unlikely to go far. china's ambassador to the philippines, ma keqing, has issued a statement saying the dispute should be resolved through bilateral dialogue. authorities in beijing have repeatedly refused to accept arbitration based on the u.s. convention on the law of the

sea. one month has passed since a shocking gang rape in india revived a national debate out sexual violence. a group of men attacked and raped a 23-year-old woman on a bus in the indian capital new delhi. she was taken to singapore fortreatment but died from her wounds. police arrested six men for alleged involvement in the crime. they have been charged with murder and sexual assault. five of the six were taken to court on monday to enter their pleas. defense lawyers raised the possibility that one of those five is a minor. the hearing was postponed after defense lawyers called on the hearing to be open to the public. theourt is scheduled to reconvene on thursday. now, government officials have promised to do more to protect women and punish attackers. but incidents of violence have continued to come to light. nhk world's apishek dulia reports from new delhi. >> we want --

>> justice! >> reporter: public outrage has erupted across india since the new delhi gang rape incident came to light. anger is directed not only against rapists but also the government and police. people are demanding stricter punishment for sexual offenders. government officials have vowed to take action. they say they will consider revising the law to strengthen penalties against rapists. indian home affairs minister has ordered police chiefs around the country to investigate sexual assaults more thoroughly. >> such modifications required in our laws and procedures and the methodology of investigation. >> reporter: but women and even girls continue to be brutalized.

this month a 32-year-old woman in the eastern state of behar was found hanging from a tree after she was gang-raped. and a 9-year-old girl was raped and killed in the western state of maharastra. women in new delhi are signing up for martial arts classes. they say they can't rely on the police. >> translator: i have to defend myself the police are not trustworthy. >> reporter: some people are focused on helping the victims. an ngo in new delhi has launched an effort to support women who have experienced sexual assault. abdul maboud is one of the nba leaders. he says the group wants to help create a society that respects women.

volunteers provide counseling to victims and refer them to other health services. >> we get calls from incest cases. incest is also rape or sexual abuse. with very close relatives involved. >> reporter: maboud says women attacked by their own relatives are often reluctant to go to the police. those who do are not always guaranteed a sincere response. in november a 17-year-old girl in the northern state of punjab went to the police to report a sexual assault. officials told her she should marry one of the attackers. the girl later killed herself. incidents like these make many women feel abandoned by the police. maboud believes the real problem comes from cultural attitude toward women's rights.

>> the system is very, very feudal. it is very male chauvinist. >> reporter: last month's gang rape has launched a nationwide dialogue on crimes against women. people around the country are watching to see if indian society can learn to protect the dignity of all its citizens. abishek dulia, nhk world, new delhi. algerian government officials have reassured foreign energy companies that they'll deal aggressively with terrorism. but a hostage crisis that left dozens of people from different counts dead is raising fears on new infrastructure. algerian prime minister abdel mal eck sellal. the militants attacked a natural gas plant in the desert last week and took hundreds of

workers hostage. sellal stressed government forces moved in on the facility to demonstrate algeria will not give in to terrorism. a spokesperson for the militants told the french weekly "paris match" that the group had achieved 90% of its goals. one of those goals was to take control of a heavily guarded complex with just 40 fighters. but there are allegations that militants had some inside help. an algerian newspaper reported that security officials are questioning workers. they reveal a former driver at the facility was among the attackers. he reportedly provide the the group with detailed information about the plant. the militants have pledged to continue theirttks unless france halts its military campaign in mali. now, leaders around the world are now paying full attention to this part of africa. professor kazio takahashi of the open university of japan gave us some insight into why things

unfolded the way they did in algeria and what we should expect moving forward. >> behind the decision of algerian government to go alone lies the bloody history of algeria. algeria fought the bloody war of independence again france for eight years, from 1954 to 1962. and during that eight years algerians lost 1 million casualties. and in the 1990s algeria experienced a terrible civil war in which they lost another 100,000 people. so algerians regard their independence and sovereignty as a very precious thing, and they guard it jealously, and they are not inclined to accept any foreign help on the matter of terrorism. what is striking with this terrorist group is they consist of members of many countries.

but this is nothing new about al qaeda. al qaeda to begin with is a multinational phenomenon. but what is striking with this group is they had -- allegedly had two canadian members. that is kind of striking. and this indicates that probably al qaeda is extending its appeal to the north american and european-born muslims. and most of them are those who are alienated in north american and european societies. what is striking, another striking feature of this terrorist incident is for the first time in the history of algeria terrorists managed 20 attack and damage the major oil and gas facilities. and those facilities are the lifelines of the algerian economy. and thus they are guarded very heavily. but this time terrorists managed to damage that facility.

up until quite recently the western alliance really didn't take those terrorists in mali and this area seriously. but now that this incident took place, one would suppose that france would continue their military operation against islamists in northern maui and uk will join in their efforts and probably the united states will support that operation. so in a sense the iamists in rthe mali will face the united front of the western alliance and for the first time. and probably they are forced to lose control of northern mali. and if they are in a desperate position, it's most likely it will result in a desperate terrorist act again. business school administrators are busy updating their courses. they're emphasizing global experience in response to the rise of emerging economies. harvard business school has been leading this trend. dean nitin-noriya create aid

program that sends students abroad to develop their skills. nhk world's-carri ida spoke with him about the global outlook. >> welcome to tokyo. >> what is the biggest challenge that harvard business school faces today? >> business education in america itself has become stagnant. all of the growth in business schools is in places like china and india and brazil and eastern europe. we're a great american business school in a great american century. people came to the united states because they thought that this was the center of management practice and management innovation. but now if you were to try and educate leaders who have to operate in the world in what i you this of as this new global century of business by teaching them just about american education, i think we would be irresponsible to our mission of educating leaders who make a difference in the world. >> in a nutshell the biggest challenge that you face is

competition? >> yes. it seems surprising. you would think there isn't a competition for harvard business school, but people are coming up with different models. we have students, all 900 of our students in the first year are currently in january scattered all around the world, trying to understand globalization. they've all been asked to go to countries they're unfamiliar with. such as in india you can't -- if you try to drive a truck for the last mile of delivery, you'd never reach your destination. you have to have a completely different kind of small vehicle that can actually navigate the narrow streets of the country. so you recognize the group creates a vehicle that has a very different turning radius that substitutes for the three-wheeler and created one of the great products in the country. >> and you can't do that in boston? >> unless you travel the world as a global leader today and have a firsthand experience of how rap idly opportunity is

evolving and how differently the opportunity structure looks relative to what it was i think you're just going to miss out on what's going on in globalization today. i've grown up in different countries. i know it's not like you can just waltz into a country and think you understand it. with you devoping that contextual humidity, to know we all bring to any country a home country of ours that has to be adapted but more than that you have to actually be genuinely open to what opportunity might look like in a different country. >> dean nitin nohria of harvard business school. well, people studying in massachusetts and elsewhere in the eastern half of the united states are wearing their heavy coats. mai shoji from our weather desk tells us why. >> yes, an arctic air mass covers much of the eastern half of the north american continent. let me get straight into a video to show you what's happening. arctic air mass is blanketing the midwestern and northeastern u.s., bringing the coldest

weather of the season and heavy snow. slick roads and blow snow have caused multiple highway pile-ups including one outside cincinnati. 86 cars crashed and a 12-year-old girl was killed. blizzard conditions also battered north dakota with the temperature falling to minus 37 degrees. the extreme cold will linger in the midwest until saturday. let's show you this satellite image, all the way down to the south. the jet stream plunges. and making lake effect snow pretty active across the great lakes region. possible additional 12340e68 cou snowfall could add up to about 40 centimeters. you can see high pressure will be covering these regions making things really kool cold. out to the west the pacific northwest will be seeing an incoming system in that it will be bringing freezing rain to oregon and washington state. but during the daytime those freezing -- will be turning into

rain. heavy snow, though, will be piling up in the mountains of british columbia. showing you the temperature is quite evident that it is in fact the coldest weather of this season so far. fargo minus 17 degrees. winnipeg minus 26. we're looking at new york just at minus 7 for your high, to remind you and this prolonged exposure of dangerously cold conditions could cause frostbite, hypothermia, and also death. but 209 south of the jet stream houston looking at 22. asian continent, we have to talk about the hayes and fog again covering much of china. in fact, in beijing it is in the hazardous level. we're going to take a break here. across the northeastern areas of china due to that low pressure bringing some snow or mixed precipitation, but otherwise, still looking at a hazardous level of polluted air quality in beijing. very unhealthy level in shanghai. the level only goes up to 500.

this is around 450. we may even need a new chart for this one. so this kind of condition continues for a little while longer due to the air stagnation across the area. you can see nothing much is happening except for south of yangtze river where wet weather will continue making flooding to trigger easily. shanghai 8 degrees. chongqing 11 degrees for your high. ulan bator. looking at minus 16. tokyo at 9 degrees. here across the europn continent a potent system moving in bringing snow to southwestern areas of the uk. sea effect snow continuing on the east coast here but the iberian peninsula even will be looking at some snowfall. northern madrid about 50 centimeters. additional amounts of five centimeters possible. winds really strong pick up waves along the coast, as much as six meters high. this is the jet stream plunging all the way down here. and due to the warm air flowing

from the northern regions of africa, this area is very unstable. thunderstorms could be popping up. 11 degrees. athens at 15. looking at 2 degrees for your high here. i'll move back for your extended forecast. ♪ ♪

♪ and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.